I received more than one hundred entries this year, and it’s never easy to pick just one winner! But I always pray that the Holy Spirit will lead to me to whoever He wants to attend the conference, who wouldn’t be able to go without this scholarship.

This year, the Lord provided the resources for me to choose two winners: one for each conference. And the winners are … (Drum roll here!)

Tom Threadgill won with his thriller/suspense One for Sorrow. He will be going to the Mount Hermon conference.

Dr. Laurel Shaler won with her nonfiction Reclaiming Relationships. She will be attending the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference.

Congratulations, Tom and Laurel! I am confident that God has great plans for blessing you abundantly at these conferences. I look forward to hearing your stories!

For those who didn’t win, I hope you will consider attending one or both of these conferences. If you can’t afford the full price, I encourage you to apply for a partial scholarship. (Go to http://writers.mounthermon.org/registration for information on how to apply for a “campership.” Go to www.socalcwc.com/volunteer for a list of ways you can earn a full or partial working scholarship.)

If the Lord provides, I hope to run this contest again next year. So keep developing your writing skills and check my blog, newsletter, and social media next fall for announcements of the 7th annual Promising Beginnings Contest!

Thank you, Kathy, for providing these scholarships. It is a blessing we have contests like these for writers. Congratulations to Tom and Laurel. I am so excited to be heading off to Mount Hermon next week to participate in all the activities and to learn from so many awesome writing teachers. Kathy, we so appreciate you and your team for all the hours spent in organizing this year’s conference. Blessings.